Netherland Indies stamp – The-Philatelist

As might be expected after a long Dutch colonial period, not all Indonesians were Muslims. Some were Dutch Protestants and so perhaps understandably were nervous about independence from Holland. Being in the majority in a few islands in the South Moluccas, and feeling the Indonesians had reneged on the promise of a federal state with some autonomy, rebellious veterans of the Dutch colonial army declared the Republic of Maluku Selatan. Declaration does not make reality but soon enough an enterprising stamp dealer came calling. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

No post office, no legitimate stamp is an understandable philately rule. The first stamps of Maluku Selatan have the best arguments for legitimacy. They were just overprints of Dutch colonial issues from the brief period that the islands were not in Indonesian control. Being overprints proved the rebels were in the old Dutch colonial post offices. Were they still delivering mail?

There is not value or issue date for this stamp. Stamp dealer Henry Stolow had printed in Vienna circa 150 stamp issues under the name Maluku Selatan between 1955 and 1971.

There had been some Christian missionary work in the Dutch Indies. Many Christians were from the island of Ambon which was where the Dutch first landed in 1605. A good percentage of the males went on to serve in the Dutch colonial army. Being dark skinned, they were not held as POWs as ethnic Dutch were during the World War II Japanese occupation. The Indonesian independence movement received much of their organization during the Japanese occupation. Post war, the Maluku soldiers did not desire disbanding or transfer to the new Indonesian Army. Claiming truthfully that the post independence Indonesian government was more centralized than what they had agreed to, several south Malluccan islands declared independence under President Christiian Soumokil. The capital was Ambon. 5 months after the declaration in 1950 the Indonesian army landed in Ambon. Guerilla resistance on the islands lasted till 1963. After fighting started the Dutch changed their tune and started offering transport to Holland for Christian Mallucans. A government of Maluku Selatan in exile set up in Holland that still exists. Christiian Sourmokil had remained behind to lead the guerilla fighters. He was eventually captured by Indonesia and executed in 1966.

From 1950, the government in exile issued a few new design postage stamps that were not recognized. In 1955 stamp dealer Henrey Stolow contracted with Vienna printers for printing stamps in the name of the Republic of Maluku Selatan. He was also working with several newly independent African nations and his authority was not questioned. Stolow was a Jew born in Riga, Latvia who started as a stamp dealer in Berlin in 1919. The Nazi regime of 1933 saw him move on to Brussels and then on to New York. In New York he bought the collections of several prominent philatelists for well publicized auctions. Among the prominent collections were Franklin Roosevelt, Cardinal Spellman, and deposed Kings Carol II of Romania and Farouk of Egypt. Normally the dealing in fake stamps is considered not reputable but it did not seem to effect Stolow’s career. He later returned to Germany and his operation continues still using his name 49 years after his death. It is currently based in Munich. A nephew of Stolow is still active in New York.

Well my drink is empty and I will salute the Christian Missionary. When one sees the trouble caused for the small percentage of converts, one can understand why modern Christian organizations seem to concentrate solely on charity. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. I will have a legitimate stamp for you.

After the Napoleonic Wars, the Netherlands needed the Indies to transform into a cash cow. The extent that it did so meant that Liberals could then afford to reevaluate their position regarding natives. What about the natives themselves? Well, it was a different world then. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Todays stamp is a bulk mail issue featuring then Queen Wilhelmina. There is no effort to display the colony on any Netherland Indies stamp prior to 1938. This is perhaps a consequence of decisions for the place being a conversation between Dutchmen alone.

Todays stamp is issue A9, a 10 Cent stamp issued by the Netherland Indies colony of Holland in modern day Indonesia starting in 1903. It was a 10 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

Indonesia had been under Dutch control for hundreds of years, first as a for profit company and then as a colony. It had been a consistent money loser. After the Napoleonic Wars and with continued troubles in Belgium it became critical the colony begin to turn a profit. A cultivation system was put in place that required either 20 % of a villages land or 2 months of labor on the part of peasants go toward crops for export. In reality this moved the vast bulk of land from food production for locals or non use to export crops. Large, efficient rubber plantations began to generate much revenue both in the Indies and for the Netherlands. The Dutch did a slightly better job than the British in Ireland preventing such an economy leading to famines.

With the financial crisis past, the Dutch began to wonder if enough was being done for natives. In 1903, Queen Wilhelmina announced a new “ethical policy” that intended to open up more educational opportunities at local Dutch schools for natives and much spending on irrigation, roads, and water systems to deal with the rapidly growing population. All this was done very paternalistically but when a nationalistic organization was formed by newly educated natives, the Budi Utomo, it was welcomed by the Dutch.

It was also the Dutch that began the more threatening moves against the colony. Dutch communist activist Henk Sneevliet spent much time in the Indies forming a local communist party open to both left leaning Dutch and natives. It’s goal was Indonesian independence under communism. Sneevliet had much success among seaman and many ships were manned by mixed crews. His work culminated in the mutiny of the Heavy Cruiser HNLMS De Zeven Provincien in 1933. The Dutch naval ship with a mutinous crew of 450 was then bombed by the Dutch air force killing 23. This was quite a story and the ship was renamed to improve its reputation. Still in the Far East, Snievliet worked toward the forming of the mainland Chinese communist party. Later back in Holland, he was arrested during the German occupation. He walked to his 1942 execution singing “The Internationale”.

HNLMS De Zeven Provincien before the mutiny

Well my drink is empty and I am left with no one to toast. The Dutch never found the ideal formula and the Indonesians themselves in this period seemed largely no shows to the debate. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.